Michigan

Playing Hawk Meadows worth every penny

Editor's note:Part of an ongoing series on Livingston County area golf courses.

You can question my opinions about Livingston County golf courses.

You can question my talent for the game I love.

You can even question my sanity, especially after last Monday's soaker of a round at Hawk Meadows Golf Club in Howell Township.

But you can't question my dedication.

I gutted it out through wind and rain Monday to play Hawk Meadows for the first time. I didn't want to leave for fear I would miss a key hole or feature of the course. The two members I interviewed walked off after nine holes, leaving me alone against the elements. It was my little version of "Survivorman," the hit show on the Discovery Channel.

I survived, but I think we know who won. (The course always does.).

I went to Hawk Meadows expecting a cornfield with a scruffy 6,377-yard golf course cut through it. I found a pleasantly pleasing pasture instead.

I guess I let the low price - a buck a hole during the week - cloud my initial perception of the place. Playing Hawk Meadows is worth every penny owner Jim Ottinger charges, and probably more. "You can't beat the price," said Kim Neubert, a member from Cohoctah Township who wisely quit after nine holes.

Ottinger bought the course, built in 1969 as Dama Farms golf course, in 2000 and changed the name to Hawk Meadows. He said he wanted to avoid coupons and discounts by making every round affordable.

"We make the price fair," said Ottinger, 55, who lives in Commerce Township. "I don't think we do so against the condition and quality of the course."

Superintendent Colby Pace takes pride in every blade of grass at Hawk Meadows. His father, Paul Pace, helped build the course and was its first superintendent.

"He told me when I bought the course, you might be the owner, but this is my place," Ottinger recalled. "We keep our greens on par with everyone else."

Ottinger also owns Willow Brook, a 6,101-yard course about 12 miles from Hawk Meadows in Byron. Combined, the two courses provide different challenges.
Willow Brook has some teeth to it, with more elevation changes and tougher shot values. At Hawk Meadows, golfers should have no problem playing with one nugget. Continuing a tradition that doesn't want to die, however, I lost my tee shot at No. 16 into the thick scrub pinching the fairway. But I'd likely receive a pass on that one, with the weather and all.

Hawk Meadows is mostly wide open, with only an occasional pine tree along the fairway to fear. After all the wetlands of The Jackal at Mount Brighton and all those Whispering Pines at you know where, it was nice to be able to swing freely.

With six par 4s under 355 yards from the tips, Hawk Meadows is fair and playable. There are no more than 30 bunkers on the course, only two along the fairway.

"A lot of the newer courses built in the 1990s, the architectural theme was to make it long and tough," Ottinger said. "Often, they are too difficult for the golfer. We offer enough challenge for the low handicap, but we do not frustrate the average golfer or senior."

Neubert said Hawk Meadows is "jam-packed" with family golfers on weekends. "It's forgiving and it's fun," he added. "You buy a season pass and you golf 'til you drop."

His playing partner, Al Grochowski of Highland, said he enjoys how walkable and uncrowded the course is. The fifth through ninth holes seem to stand out as the best stretch of holes.

The 436-yard sixth is a quirky, lovable par 5. It doglegs hard left at the 80-yard mark to a green tucked back into the woods behind two bunkers. The eighth and ninth feature elevated tees. No. 8 plays just 306 yards with three trees and a pond to avoid along the right.

I'll mention the 356-yard 10th only because I birdied it with a nifty 9-iron to 5 feet. The par-5 12th is the course's true championship hole. At 562 yards, its length will humble even the longest hitters.

The only complaint I dare to mention would be some hard greens. My wedge shot at the 496-yard par-5 18th bounced off the putting surface like it had hit a cart path. But neither the rain, or another double bogey, could dampen my positive first impression of Hawk Meadows.